Abstract
Medical educators are challenged to prepare physicians who recognize and attend to patients’ psychosocial needs, as doing so is essential for prevention and treatment of disease. The authors evaluated Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine’s Patient-Centered Learning curriculum as a model for teaching about patient psychosocial needs. Data was collected at five time points throughout the academic year. The year-long study using a pre-test and post-test design confirmed one part of the curriculum is effective in increasing the students’ recognition of patient psychosocial characteristics. This replicable and sustainable curriculum and implications for medical educators are described herein.
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Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the patients and attending physicians who generously shared their time and experiences with the students during the Friday Wrap-Up sessions.
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This study was funded in part by the Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment at Virginia Tech.
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The Institutional Review Boards of Virginia Tech and Carilion approved this study. Human rights were observed at all times.
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Welfare, L.E., Nolan, M.F. & Vari, R.C. Patient-Centered Learning Curricula: Evaluating the Impact of the Friday Wrap-Up on Student Conceptualization of Patient Psychosocial Characteristics. Med.Sci.Educ. 26, 543–546 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0315-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0315-y